Down the Rabbit Hole
by CaramelDatsun
Summary: Sequel to Wormhole. READ THAT ONE FIRST. Things get complicated as Sari reencounters old friends and makes new enemies...And what happens when you can't trust your own leader? Rated K for now.
1. Prolouge

**A/N Ok, any section marked with MIRRORVERSE will take place in the Mirrorverse. In there's no title, then it takes place in the normal Animated universe. Get it? I hope so.**

**So, I decided to alin the sequal to Wormhole w/ Season three of Transformers Animated. I just hope I can keep up...**

**I don't own Transformers.**

---

It had been a couple of months since Sari had returned from the alternate universe, and it was still taking a little time for her to readjust to the fact that he friends didn't want to take over the universe and that Ultra Magnus wasn't an evil dictator.

As she, Bumblebee and the others spent some much needed quality time with her, Optimus had tried to inform Ultra Magnus on what had happened to Sari. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to get a hold of them.

Sari was having a little trouble adjusting to her new teen body, but with a little help, she was getting used to it. Not only that, they had decided to teach her what they knew about fighting.

"Thanks for helping me out guys," Sari said, as she got out of Bee, who'd picked her up at Sumdac Tower. "I'm glad you guys are willing to give me a chance at being an Autobot, if not an official one."

"No problem, Sari. Although, maybe we shouldn't let you use your upgrade for a while." Optimus said.

"Yeah. No offense, Sari, but I don't enjoy being stabbed by one of my best friends." Bee added.

"Hey, I said I was sorry about that!"

--

(MIRRORVERSE)

Back in the Mirrorverse, a small crowd of Decepticons was gathered outside a chamber, silent and waiting.

Fugitive Blurr had been caught, and he'd been sentenced to have his spark removed and his body destroyed…But first, they had extracted all information from his processor concerning the other fugitives Optimus, Sentinel, and Wasp. These bots had been part of the Autobots before the core of the organization had been shattered by Megatron and his small army.

In this universe, the Autobots were an evil group bent on taking over the universe, but upon the arrival of a certain human, their plans had expanded from their universe to all of the countless universes. The Decepticons had been resistance fighters, led by Megatron, who had opposed the tyrannical rule of the late Ultra Magnus. The human known as Sari had been caught in the crossfire, and the Decepticons had had to help her get back home to her own universe. In the final battle, Megatron finally took down, Ultra Magnus, leaving the Autobots leaderless…for now.

The Decepticons looked up as a door at one side of the room opened. Blurr was being led between two large mechs, double agent Shockwave leading them. The Autobot had modified stasis cuffs on his wrists, and special weights attached to his legs to stop him from running off. As the Autobot prisoner strode past the assembled bots, he sneered as he past them. He recognized some faces in the crowd…Jazz, that traitorous pile of rust. He was smiling and waved at his former commander. Blurr scowled, and was nudged forward by the mech behind him into the dark room ahead.

Blurr was strapped down to a chair in the next room, and Shockwave dismissed the two larger mechs. Glaring down at the grinning Autobot, he growled, "Any last words, Blurr?"

"Actually, yes…" The mech replied. "While in my cell after the complementary brain drain you gave me, I got a mandatory update through my comlink. We've got a new Magnus. The Autobots WILL live on, you traitorous slag!" Blurr laughed in his captor's face.

Shockwave's single optic glared at the laughing prisoner. "Enough of this, Blurr. Whatever your new leader can do, we'll be able to stop him." Turning his back on him, he flipped a switch, and a long, tendril like tube slithered down from a hole in the ceiling. Latching itself to Blurr's chest, it proceeded to rip his spark out. Blurr screamed before his optics faded, and he was still at last. A bright blue light was traveling up the pipe. The pipe led to a small chamber that acted as a designated cell for sparks of criminals.

Shockwave summoned the two larger mechs back into the room. "Toss this pile of parts into the compactor." He ordered.

As they dragged the lifeless body of Blurr out of the room, Shockwave sighed. He'd respected Blurr, despite his attitude. He hadn't enjoyed doing that, but he felt almost obligated to do so.

-

Meanwhile, three fugitives sat in a cave deep in the former Decepticon HQ.

They had eluded capture, but they weren't happy about it. Blurr, despite being an obnoxious loudmouth, had been a good scout, and with him gone, their ability to travel was limited.

Luckily, there wasn't much need to travel any farther.

The base had been sealed up and abandoned, but for some reason, the space bridge had been left intact. Apparently, they had not had the resources back then to take it down, so they sealed up the base and now they were planning to take it down on a later date. Perhaps they though it had been ok, because no one would be able to bring a power source to the old place without being noticed. Optimus had solved that problem quite easily. Apparently, the logic of the Universes was simple: Whatever happened in one universe, something similar was to happen in the parallel one.

The Allspark, a fragment of the spark of Primus, had been discovered by the Decepticons in an old ruined city. They had kept it hidden from the Autobots, but they had found out. After a particularly bloody battle for it, many bots lay on the battlefield, dead and wounded. The artifact lay on the ground, the last bot holding it shot dead. As the sounds of battle died down, it was said Primus was angered by this awful display of greed and the crystal like object shattered, its shards scattered throughout the universe. Now, due to the random appearance of the Wormhole, many of these shards had resurfaced.

The fugitives were in possession of four of these shards. One had belonged to Blurr, but seeing as he was dead…

The plan was to use Blurr's shard to power the space bridge. While the Decepticons were distracted, they'd escape into the parallelverse. There, they'd seek help from the evil ones in that place and return with an army that would beat the Decepticons here at least three to one!

They could already taste victory…


	2. Adjusting to the Environment

**A/N SLAG. What's up with me? I need to get back into gear! **

**Oh, and people MAY or MAY NOT have a hard time distinguishing Mirror bots from regular bots. Anyone with "Mirror (name)" or "Other (name)" isn't from the normal continuity.**

**(MIRRORVERSE): Takes place in mirrorverse**

**(RegularVerse): Takes place in the normal continuity**

--

(MIRRORVERSE)

"Megatron, we've got problems!"

"What?" The young leader looked up at the larger screen before him, which was riddled with static. "Shockwave, what's going on?"

"T-They're after me!" The panicked spy yelped, "Primus, I've never seen anything like them!"

"Shockwave, stay with me! Who or what are they?" The Decepticon leader tried to calm the mech, but his words fell on deaf audios.

"Sir, I'm in deep! Please, send back up!" A loud crash, and a gasp from Shockwave. "N-No! They-They've…but how-?" There was a scream, and the screen went black.

"Slaggit!" Megatron snarled, slamming his fist into the arm of his chair. What were those blasted Autobots doing? He'd lost some of his best soldiers in the last few decacycles ALONE! What force of nature was taking out his best troops? First Blitzwing, then Lugnut, and now Shockwave! When would this madness end?

"Sir?" The Decepticon turned to see Bumblebee poking his head into his chamber. "Is this a bad time?"

Sighing, he muttered, "No, Bumblebee, it isn't. What do you have for me?"

"Well, sir, we just got word back from Sunstorm. He said he'd flown into some unexplored territory and, well…" The younger mech approached the mech's computer and inserted a disc he'd been holding. "Just look." On the screen, a picture was materializing. When it was clear enough for him to see, Megatron gasped. Onscreen were two shadowy forms and their build looked shockingly familiar.

"Those…They look like flying bots!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, sir, they are." Bee went on, "Sunstorm said they came out of nowhere and tried to ram into him. He managed to lose them, but he sustained heavy damage. He's in the Med Bay now."

Megatron did not answer. How had those Autobots gotten the technology to create such monstrosities? Autobots, with a few exceptions, didn't fly. Everyone knew that. Still, were these strange bots responsible for the disappearances of his best lieutenants? How could that be so? Judging from the picture, they couldn't be much older than Bumblebee…

"Sir? Everything alright?" Bee's voice broke through his train of thought.

"Hmm? Ye, I'm alright, just a little troubled by this turn of events…" Megatron responded. "You are dismissed."

As soon as Bee had left, Megatron went back to looking at the file. Who were these freaks?

--

"Yoo hoo! Boss! Ve're are back!" A voice rang through the dilapidated Autobot base. Since the fall of Ultra Magnus, the Autobots had, for the most part, dispersed, but a few had stayed true to the new leader, Rodimus Magnus. As new leader, the former Prime had made it his goal to reestablish the old regime Ultra Magnus had set up. He was not new to leading, but still, he wasn't used to commanding so many bots at once, but PRIMUS, it felt good to be Top Bot.

As the red and orange mech sat on the throne that had once belonged to Ultra Magnus, he gazed down at his newest bodyguards. Both had been rejects that his Chief Science Minister Perceptor that had deemed unfit to live. The two, according to their creator, were supposed to be prototype flying Autobots that had gone wrong. As he was about to dispose of the experiments, Rodimus had stopped him, seeing potential in the two…After some alternating under his supervision, he soon found them to his liking, and had deemed them ready to be tested. They had preformed beyond his wildest expectations. Pleasantly surprised, he'd taken the two as bodyguards, although he regarded them like sons. Primus, he'd even named them when they had been activated…The orange one was Jetfire and the blue one was Jetstorm.

"Well, you two are back early." He said in the same fatherly tone his former leader had used on him. He knew that the former Magnus had handpicked him as an heir, and he was DAMN proud of that. He also knew that had he not been chosen, Ultra Magnus would NEVER have looked at him twice. The memories of him bossing around the other younglings under his mentor's gaze were still fresh…

"Yes, Boss, and look at what we are dragging in like cybercats!" Jetfire grunted, heaving the unconscious form of Shockwave before his leader.

"He was fun to chase, yes! But still, we almost lost him…" Jetstorm added sullenly. "Had he not tried to contact his leader, we would have lost him in the ruins."

"Aww, don't be too hard on yourself, Jetstorm," Rodimus said cheerfully. "You caught him, that's all that matters. Now, get this load of scrap into the Stockades and go enjoy yourselves. You've earned the rest of the day off."

"Really?" They asked at the same time. "Yes sir!" Saluting together, they dragged the Decepticon off to join his captured comrades.

Chuckling, Rodimus watched them leave.

One of them would make an excellent Magnus. Yes, only ONE of them. Well…The one who had the bearings to kill the other, anyway.

"Rodimus Magnus, sir!" A black mech staggered up to the throne, panting.

Growling, the mech asked, "What do you want? Be quick!"

"We-We've got a lock on the locations of traitors Sentinel Prime and Wasp and we've got them surrounded."

--

(AnimatedVerse)

"Guys, I'm telling you, first there was a signal, the next klik it went up in smoke!" Bumblebee demanded. He'd actually had been paying attention on Monitor Duty for once, and that's when he'd noticed the energy spike. It had lasted about a second, but the energy levels had been astronomical. What had caused it, he wasn't sure, but he had to tell the others about it.

"Were did frequency originate from?" Prowl asked.

"Well, when it was up, it looked like it was somewhere in the forest regions of Detroit. But that was like, maybe thirty Earth minutes ago."

"Still, we'll have to check this out. Autobots, transform and roll out!"

--

He couldn't believe that had worked.

The figure, still smoking from his recent warp, looked around. Strange, organic plants surrounded him, and unfamiliar sounds assaulted his audios. Letting his gaze fall, he noticed his comrades hadn't risen yet. Kicking the smaller green mech, he snarled, "Wasp, you slug! Get up!"

The Mirror Wasp groaned, his blue optics coming online. "Up yours, Optimus…" was the weary reply. "I'm still tired from the warp…"

Mirror Optimus snarled, and turned on the larger blue mech. "Sentinel, get your aft up! We haven't got time for recharge!"

Sentinel looked tiredly up at the red and blue mech and, with minor protests, got up and took a look around. "Primus, is this really the other Earth?" He asked, awe in his voice.

"Yeah. Disgusting, isn't it?" Mirror Optimus spat. "Once we enlist the local villains, though, that'll all change."

"Guys, I may be tired, but I can sense someone coming." Mirror Wasp grunted, getting up and stretching. "We'd better get out of here."

--

Prowl leapt from branch to branch, constantly aware of everything around him. So far, nothing was coming up. "Bumblebee, are you sure you saw the signal come from here?" Prowl asked via comlink.

"Positive, Prowl! Keep looking!" Bee snapped.

Sighing, Prowl continued on his way, still scanning for anything unusual. Primus, this was… Stopping, he saw Optimus walking towards him "Prime? I thought you told us to split up."

"Well, I finished with, uhh, my part of the forest so I tried to find one of you guys." The mech replied, shrugging. "Why don't I just stick with you while we wait for the others?"

"Um…Alright." Prowl answered. Was it just him, or was his leader's attitude more…laid-back than usual? And what was with his Autobot insignia? It was purple!

Wait. "Uh, Prime? Why is your insignia purple?" Prowl asked.

"What?" Mirror Optimus asked innocently. "It's not purple. You need to get your optics checked."

"My optics are fine, Optimus, now please answer my question."

Mirror Optimus really didn't feel like killing this Prowl copy. It'd be too suspicious if he disappeared. "Well, I'll answer your question if you answer mine."

"And that would be?"

"Um, that organic thing over there. What is it?"

Prowl turned around. "I don't see anything."

"Well, keep looking. I've never seen anything like it before." Optimus replied, uprooting a bush covered with red berries and splattering them over his insignia. Tracing the white parts out with his finger, he tossed the bush away and said, "Oh, there it goes. You just missed it. Anyway, see? My insignia's not purple, it's red."

Prowl's glare made the message clear: He wasn't being fooled that easily. Still, no sense in provoking this 'Other Optimus' until he knew exactly how to take him down. "Hmmm…Perhaps you're right, Optimus. I guess I just need some rest."

"Well, uh, I'll just take a look around here and I'll meet up with you back at the bas, alright?"

--

"I'm telling you, Boss-bot, the signal was coming from here!" Bumblebee insisted again.

"Well, whatever was here is probably long gone by now…" Optimus sighed. "Alright, I think it's about time we headed back." All of a sudden, Optimus could have sworn he saw something in the corner of his optic. "Bumblebee, I need to go check something out. Go meet up with the others." Bee nodded and drove off. Drawing his ax, he stepped quietly into the brush.

Taking a quick scan of the area, he blinked. Nothing was coming up…"Primus, I'm getting paranoid." He muttered, turning back…and bumped into a familiar blue mech. Stumbling back, he looked up into the startled faceplates of Sentinel.

"Optimus, there you are!" Sentinel snorted. "Listen, Wasp's already found us a good hideout, and we couldn't find you! Where have you been?"

The local Prime was speechless. Since when had Sentinel returned to Earth? Since when did he hang out with Wasp, the so-called Autobot traitor? "I…Uh…" He stuttered, still confused. That's when his optics fell on the mech's insignia.

A purple Autobot sign.

Immediately, everything came together. This must have been the Sentinel Prime that Sari encountered in the Mirrorverse. But how had he gotten here? His thoughts were interrupted by the Other Sentinel's voice.

"Optimus? Hello? You ok?" The blue mech asked with genuine concern in his voice and optics.

"I…I'm fine, Sentinel," Optimus responded. "Just a little tired, so I guess I'm not running with all cylinders…"

"I told you that warping lag would catch up with you." Sentinel replied.

Ah. So that's how these strangers had gotten here. A modified transwarp. That explained the sudden energy spike Bumblebee had picked up earlier.

"Uh, right," Optimus said. "Why don't you lead the way back to the hideout? I could use a few cycles of recharge."

"Alright, but keep it down. The last thing we want is the locals finding us." Sentinel explained.

As Optimus followed the doppelganger as silently as he could, he realized acting as the Other Optimus was going to be tricky. Hadn't Sari said that the Mirror versions of all the bots were almost the complete opposites of the ones in this universe? In that crazy, mixed-up plain of existence, Autobots had been evil, and Decepticons had been good, as he recalled. If that was the case, he'd have to act completely out of his nature in order to fool these imposters.

"Here we are!" Sentinel announced. The "hideout" was little more than a cave in the side of the cliff. "Not exactly home sweet home, but it'll have to do as a temporary residence."

'Are you slagging kidding me?' Optimus thought. The old Decepticon base was maybe less than a mile from their current location! Why hadn't Mirror Wasp found that place?

Following Sentinel into the cave, Optimus saw two blue optics gaze at him from the back of the cavern. "Wasp, we're back!" Sentinel called.

" 'Bout time too." The green bot responded. "Don't tell me Optimus wandered off. I swear, I'm the only one who does any work on this team."

"Oh yeah?" Optimus retorted. Now was probably a good time to practice being his Mirror self. "Listen up, greasegrinder, while you were sniffing around this cave, I found a much BETTER hideout."

Wasp glared at the mech. "Oh really? Lead the way then, Boss." He spat out the last word in a contemptuous manner.

--

Meanwhile, Mirror Optimus had just met up with the rest of the team. Perhaps this strange new planet wasn't so bad. The oil here, at the very least, was tastier than the slop back home. However, taking on the role as the Local Optimus was going to be far more difficult that he first thought.

"Uh, Boss bot? You ok?" Bumblebee asked.

"Bumblebee, I feel fine! Whatever makes you think something's wrong?" The leader asked.

"Um, well, considering you just drank half your weight in oil, I just assumed you weren't feeling ok."

--

**Rrrrgh. This is WAAAY short, but I need to work on a few other things.**


	3. Planning and Adapting

A/N Argh. Much work to do, and seeing as I wasted my spring break, I'm still swamped. Oi.

--

(MIRRORVERSE)

"PRIMUS, how could this have happened?! A slaggin' homing beacon and we fell for it!"

"Sunstorm, calm down. It could have been worse."

The golden mech glared at his sister. "Well, excuuuuse me, Quicksnipe, but I for one wanted some action!"

The purple and teal femme glared at him. "Well, we ALL can't be the antsy warrior who need to drink the oil of our enemies to stay alive, Sunstorm!" She looked him over. "Besides, you're a mess." It was true; the mech was still healing from the surprise Autobot attack. One of his wings still ached anytime someone touched or jostled it.

"Humph. Still, fighting's better than sitting indoors all day." The Seeker snorted.

"Ah, ever the warrior, aren't we, Sunstorm?" The two looked up to see Starscream leaning on the door frame. "Well, f you can heal quickly enough, we MAY have an assignment for you."

"An assignment?" The mech asked eagerly. Since the Decepticons had defeated the Autobots, life on Earth had been relatively peaceful. Unfortunately, for warriors like Sunstorm, peace usually meant boredom everlasting. An assignment that had to do with Autobot wrong-doing was ok in his book, no matter what the danger was.

"Yes, but we'll need you in top shape, so rest up." Starscream replied.

"I can already feel myself healing…" The flyer replied, squirming excitedly.

"Primus, you're like a sparkling sometimes." Quicksnipe scoffed.

--

"But sire, if those two fugitives left behind a homing beacon, then there was no way they could have escaped in time without us knowing." A young flyer named Cyclonus argued. The Decepticon cause had attracted many bots, young and old, from Cybertron. Among them were the members of team Charr, one of the elite teams established by Megatron and Starscream. Cyclonus, the third in command of Team Charr, was wise for his age, and eternally optimistic. Still, he had a tendency to be arrogant and rude occasionally and he had arguments with the second in command, Oil Slick, his senior by at least twelve earth years.

"Do not be so sure, Cyclonus." The Decepticon leader said. "Our science teams have detected a strange energy lingering on the sight of the beacon. It's not just energy from the space bridge either. Oil Slick, if you please."

The mech, his face hidden by a glass dome, stood up. "Thank you, sire." He said. "I have reason to believe this strange energy is the fabled Transwarp energy spoken about in some of the older files we took from the Autobots." A snort from Cyclonus made him pause, but he continued anyway. "At any rate, from what evidence the teams can come up with, we think the fugitives have somehow escaped into a parallel universe."

"A parallel universe? How silly!" The purple flyer snorted again. He was silenced by a glare from Megatron.

"I see. If they did somehow get to this parallel universe, we MUST go after them." Megatron demanded.

"But sir! Our teams are barely identifying this new energy! We won't be able to replicate it for some time, and by the time we do, it may be too late!" Oil Slick protested.

"I don't care. This is of the utmost importance. Now, if there are no more excuses or jeers, I want someone to send the Constructicons Mixmaster and Scrapper to my office as soon as possible."

--

In the Autobot base, Rodimus Magnus was resting in his chambers when there was a knock on his door. "Sir?" A yellow-helmed mech peered inside.

"Ah, Hot Shot, just the bot I wanted to see." The Magnus slid into a sitting position and beckoned the mech forward.

"Ah, sir, I've got a report that, well, the fugitives Optimus, Sentinel and Wasp are nowhere to be found." The younger mech explained.

"Good, good. The last thing we need are those three messing up my plans." The red mech purred, setting back down.

"Um, sir, according to the spies we've planted in the Decepticon bases, the fugitives have escaped into some parallel universe." Hot Shot went on.

"WHAT?!" The Autobot leader's optics widened. "No…Impossible…"

--

"Uh, you wanted to see us, Boss?" Mixmaster and Scrapper stood before the Decepticon leader, looking puzzled.

"Yes, do either of you know of a mech named Dirt Boss?" Megatron asked.

The two mechs looked at each other before nodding nervously. "Uh, what do you want with him, huh?" Scrapper asked nervously.

"Well, I have heard he is one of the greatest builders ever created. We NEED him to tell us what the space bridge needs in order for us to chase those fugitives you've heard about. Why? Is there a problem?"

"Well, he kinda taught us everything we know, but here's the thing: He expected us to excel in life after he was done teaching us, and…I'm not really sure he'll be happy to see us the way we are." Mixmaster replied glumly.

"Yeah, he was sort of a martial arts guy too. Crazy old bot had us call him 'Sensei' and stuff, and when he was cheesed, his roundhouse kicks were practically lethal." Scrapper added, shuddering.

"Well, I hope you will still be able to contact him. Crazy or not, we need his help."

--

"So, let me get this straight…Sentinel, Optimus and Wasp have escaped into another universe. Am I right so far?"

"Yes, sir."

"And from what you can tell, they're there on a recruiting mission?"

"Yes…"

"And this other universe is inhabited by bots almost exactly like us, only the complete opposite?"

"Strange, but yes."

Rodimus Magnus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "If we weren't in such crazy times, I'd have the Science team thrown in the Stockades…" He growled. "ALRIGHT then…" Standing from his throne, he paced before the nervous group of bots like a wolf trying to decide which one to eat first. "Unfortunately, the Autobots are in no condition to handle this right now. All we can do for now is wait. However, put everybot on alert. If any one is acting out of the ordinary, they are to be reported and handed over for interrogation. Understood?" The gathered bots nodded. "Alright. Everyone out. I need to think."

--

(AnimatedVerse)

"Well Optimus, for once, I can truthfully say I'm impressed."

Wasp and Sentinel were standing in the collapsed center of the old Decepticon base. Night had already fallen, and the full moon's light glinted off their armor.

"See, I told you I could deliver." Optimus snorted in the most arrogant voice he could muster.

"Well, all that needs to be done is a little clean up and this place will make a good base." Sentinel commented.

"Sure, if it weren't for the fact that this is a massive crater, Sentinel." Wasp spat. "We'll need to go through the tunnels to get a good base going. Why don't you lead the way, Optimus?" The green bot looked over at their leader.

Optimus hesitated. He wasn't too familiar with the inner workings of the Decepticon base, but he'd seen enough to pull this off…For now, anyway.

--

Meanwhile, Mirror Optimus was having a lot more trouble adjusting to this new world. Knowing that that pesky human Sari lived here, he'd had to paint over the purple in his insignia with red. Afterwards, he soon learned that this universe's Optimus was, for the lack of a better phrase, a complete pushover. Considering his ego had its own gravitational pull, it was going to be hard to be humble and submissive to these worthless bots. Plus, there was still the mission to consider. How the slag was he supposed to find the resident villains?

As he strode through the hall, he promptly slammed on the breaks when he heard a familiar voice. "Optimus? Hey, Optimus!"

The red mech turned to see an organic with glowing blue optics staring up at him. He blinked. This human looked like that other organic, Sari! But the Sari he'd seen was much smaller and didn't have such blue optics… "Um, hello, Sari." He said, waving.

"Hey, where have you been?" She asked. "I've been looking for you!"

"Uh, I've been…busy. Yeah, busy." He responded. Not a very good excuse, no, but it was better than nothing. "That energy spike from before just has me a little paranoid, I guess."

"Well, if it'll make you feel better, maybe you can take a drive to clear your thoughts." Sari suggested. "And while you're at it, maybe we could get some ice cream?"

"Uh…" Optimus paused. "I…guess so."

--

"Optimus, we've passed this way before!" Wasp whined.

"Oh really? What makes you say that?" Sentinel asked.

"Sentinel, I left this mark here the second time we passed through here! Face it, you stupid excuse for a leader, you've gotten us lost!"

"Oh, is that right? Well, who was it who was sniffing around caves no bigger than a cyber-rat's hideout while I found this much better base?" The local Prime snarled back. He was getting good at being a hard-afted glitchhead. All he had to do was mimic the Sentinel he knew. "And another thing! Why haven't you changed your insignia colors? I almost had a run-in with the local Prime and his insignia is RED. Not purple, red! Do you WANT us to get caught!?"

Wasp was silent for a moment before grumbling, "Fine, fine, but we'll need some paint or something…"

--

**Still kinda short, but I wont' be on for a while, so enjoy.**


	4. Of Jailbreaks and Fakes

(MIRRORVERSE)

--

"RRRGH. This doesn't add up. Why and how did those idiots go to the other universe?" Rodimus Magnus snarled, pacing up and down his chambers. "Those idiots in the Science Wing know NOTHING." Upending a table, he continued his pacing, ignoring the dismayed Twins now soaked in the oil they had set on that table but a few moments ago.

"Sir, may I say something?" Jetstorm asked, intimidated by his leader's rage. "Perhaps the fugitives are looking for help."

Rodimus was silent before turning to the blue mech, a warm and friendly expression on his faceplates. "I am intrigued by your theory, Jetstorm. Go on." He commented.

"Well, uh, it would make sense, sir," He responded, still unsure of his master's temperament. "I mean, if I was branded a fugitive, I'd look for help where no one knew who I was. Since, well, EVERYONE knows those three HERE, they'd need to go some place that don't even know they exist, like that other universe you were talking about."

"Right…" The Magnus replied quietly. "But still, what are they planning?"

"Uh, Sir?" Jetfire spoke up. "I'm sure I'm too young to know this, but one of the soldiers I befriended during training told me there were FOUR fugitives back then. What ever happened to the fourth?"

"Oh, that one." Rodimus snarled. "Nasty little snot named Blurr. He was one of Ultra Magnus' top captains. I heard he was captured…Wait. That's it! It's coming back to me…I remember reading a report from a spy saying Blurr was captured and his spark incarcerated. As for his body, well…" He smiled humorlessly. "We all know what happens to a bot's body when their time's up. Primus, you two managed to figure all that out in one conversation! I should slaughter the entire Science division right now, the useless slugs that they are!"

"Do we get a reward?" Jetstorm asked, trying to wipe the oil off of his chassis.

Turning to the Twins, he smiled fondly at them. "Of course you two get rewards! Both of you pack up your belongings! I'm moving you to better quarters AND doubling your earnings. Now get out of here and enjoy the rest of the day off! You've earned it."

As the cheering Twins left, Rodimus turned from the door. Such good pawns, and so easy to please! Still, they bended too easily to his will. Perhaps a few more years of hardening would do the trick. One of them would have to replace him as Magnus one day, after all.

--

"Well, if I hadn't seen it with my own optics, I never would have thought it was possible."

Ratchet had been requested to do a physical on Sunstorm by Quicksnipe. What he found was that, three days after Starscream had dangled the mission in his face, the orange flyer had made a full recovery. All the medical experts except for Quicksnipe were dumbfounded.

"I feel GREAT!" Sunstorm practically shrieked. "Now, where's Starscream with that mission?"

"Starscream's currently out surveying the space bridge with Megatron and that other guy, Dirt Boss." Ratchet replied. Turning his back on the younger mech, he continued, "They won't be much-" WOOSH. "-Longer?" Looking back, he saw that Sunstorm was long gone. "Primus, he's fast sometimes. Kids these days, I swear…"

--

The orange Seeker skidded to a halt, panting, in front of the Decepticon leader and his second in command. "Alright, Starscream, pay up!" The mech insisted.

"Huh?" The Second in Command looked at his brother curiously. "Pay up with what?"

"THE MISSION!" Sunstorm snarled. "I'm all better now, so it's mission time! Hand it over!"

"Well, truth be told, Sunstorm, the mission, well…" Starscream began in an embarrassed voice.

"Yeah? YEAH?!"

"…isn't ready yet."

There was a long silence.

"WHAT?! I SPENT THREE DAYS RESTING AND HEALING AND BEING BORED! How can the mission NOT be ready yet?!" The orange flyer exploded.

"Calm down, Sunstorm! We just need to get this space bridge running, that's all." Starscream explained. "Besides, we didn't think you'd be ready for another Earth week!"

"Well, I'm tired of peace! I want ACTION! ACTION, I SAY!" The mech snarled. He took a breath to say more, but something smacked him from behind, making him topple like a load of bricks.

"Primus, this kid needs a mouth clamp." A quiet voice snarled.

"Ah, Mr. Dirt Boss." Megatron said, finally speaking up. "Have you finished you evaluation of the space bridge?"

" 'Ah have, Megatron." The smaller mech replied. "No need for the 'Mr.' though. Now, as far as ah can tell, this thing isn't a complete load of organic slag. However, ye'r missing a few components, plus an operator fer the dang thing."

"Our operations mech was…recently captured by the Autobots." Megatron explained.

"Well, go git 'im! Or do I have to go over there and drag him out myself?" Dirt Boss asked testily.

"We don't even know where the new Autobot base is!" Starscream protested. "Even if we did, we have no idea how many are still in their forces!"

"Well, it's a good thing ah know the answer to both of those problems!" Dirt Boss relied, jabbing his thumb into his chassis. "Ye can't be a master builder without gettin' hired by good and evil societies alike! They asked me to renovate their livin' space and their labs, and I just got done with it not but a few stellar cycles ago!"

"So…you know where the base is AND its full layout?" Megatron asked.

"Yep."

"Why didn't you mention this before?!" Starscream yelled.

"Well, you didn't ask. 'Sides, I don't tell just ANYBOT the secrets to my designs. If you want to know how to get there, all I want is one thing."

"And that would be?"

"Protection! If I spill the 'Bots location, they'll come after me, and an old mech like me wouldn't stand a chance. So all I want is some protection, and we've got us a deal."

"Deal."

"Great! Now, I heard two of my former students are holed up here. I'd like to know where Mixmaster and Scrapper are."

--

(Animatedverse)

"Ugh, it's so filthy on this planet!" Wasp complained. "I swear, I've had to wash myself at least twice today…"

"Quit complaining, Wasp." Sentinel growled. "Listen, I've been thinking: Optimus has been acting a little…odd, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Wasp asked.

"Well, he ran through at least twelve puddles of mud this morning while on a drive, and he didn't even flinch!"

"So? Mud's disgusting, but he's been through worse."

"You know him! He's a slaggin' organic-hater! He'd scream like a femme back on Cybertron if he got even CLOSE to mud! Besides, haven't you noticed he's not obsessed with his cleanliness?"

"Huh. That's true. I expected him to wash himself off at least FIVE times a cycle…Something isn't quite right here…" Wasp muttered.

"We'll have to keep an optic on him until we REALLY know what's going on."

"OI!" A yell made the two jump. "What do you two think you're doing?! Laying about like SLUGS! On your peds, on the double!" Optimus swaggered in, glaring at the two mechs.

Sentinel and Wasp exchanged a look. "Say, Optimus," Sentinel said casually. "I forget. We're on this planet to FIGHT the bad guys here so we don't have competition in our universe, right?"

"Naw, Sentinel!" Wasp snorted, understanding where Sentinel was going with this. "Remember? We're here to gather info on this new plane so we can harness all its resources and steal all their energy for ourselves!"

"Well, I still say we're here to eliminate the competition!" Sentinel growled.

"Gather energy!"

"Beat up locals!"

"Gather energy!"

"RRRGH. This is getting us nowhere!" Wasp growled. Turning his gaze towards Optimus, he asked, "Well, leader, we're at a disagreement. Which one of us is right? Surely you, of all bots, would know."

The local mech stared at the two. Uh oh. Had they seen through his disguise? This had to be a test of some sort. He knew Sentinel HAD to be lying, but what about Wasp? Still, it would make sense to eliminate resistance and potential opponents…Shaking his head, he yelled, "You both are idiots! I told you two could pursue those side missions after we're done here! Now stop wasting my time and get out there." He was making this up, of course, but still, it was worth a shot.

Both bots were so surprised by his answer that they followed his orders without argument.

--

Later that night, Sentinel was awakened by his com link beeping. "Huh? Who is this?" He asked sleepily.

"Three guesses, aft face, and the first two don't count for slag."

"Optimus?" He asked, fully awake now.

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I'm posing as the local Prime, and I swear, it's tough."

"You're telling me," Sentinel commented. "Looks like you and Local Prime switched places."

"WHAT?!"

"Yea, he's leading us now."

"Unacceptable! He'll have to be eliminated."

"Yeah, but how?"

"Hmmm…Think you guys could attack some very public spot in this wretched city tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but why?"

"Trust me, I've got a plan."

--

(MirrorVerse)

"Uh, h-hey, Sensei Dirt Boss." Scrapper said as pleasantly as he could. "How's it going?"

"Yeah, uh, we were just looking for you." Mixmaster added. They both fell silent under their teacher's gaze.

"You two were always terrible liars." The smaller mech snorted. "Now, tell me, how's it working for the Decepticons?"

"Huh? Well, it's good, I guess…" Scrapper replied. "Why?"

"Cuz…I'm going to be staying here for a long time."

Mixmaster gulped nervously. "A-and how long would that be, Sensei?" He asked.

"…Well, quite possibly for the rest of my life."

--

Rodimus Magnus sat at the head of a long table, glaring down at the bots seated on before him. "Its official: I have the RIGHT to dispose of ALL of you right now. My bodyguards managed to figure out what those fugitives are up to while they left you pile of parts scratching your helms in confusion." He said in a deathly calm voice. "However, I'm sparing your miserable lives. Do any of you know why?" Smiling evilly at the terrified silence before him, he continued, "I will need your so-called 'intelligence' to detect any stray Transwarp wave we can find and capture its energy for ourselves. No matter what goes on in other places, our main concerns are with the Decepticons in THIS universe. Even if those bumblers manage to recruit willing soldiers, so what? We outnumber them, and we outgun them, so they are not a threat…so far."

"Sir, if I may?" Perceptor spoke up. He seemed to be the only bot unafraid of the irate leader.

"What is it, Perceptor?" The mech asked without looking up.

"The fugitives are more of a threat than you may have first thought."

"WHAT? Blasphemer! You'd better have proof to back up your insubordination!"

"My teams have been detecting randomly occurring Transwarp 'hotspots' popping up all around the area. So far, nothing serious has made it through them, just a few piles of junk. We're working on a program to predict where the spots will occur, but the fugitives could use these spots to their advantage. All we need are interception squads in case anything actually makes it through."

"Hmmmm…" Rodimus growled. As much as he hated Perceptor, he had to admit: he did his job, and well too. "Very well. I'll allow ten squads to be at your disposal. I MAY increase that number if you prove your theory correct."

"Thank you, sire." The red mech replied, sitting back down.

"Now, on to more pressing business…We are in need of a bot from the Decepticon Stockades, but he will be well guarded. So, we'll need a Jail Break squad." The assembled bots murmured among themselves. "Silence! Now, these bots will only need to be in there long enough to retrieve the bot we need and get out with the LEAST amount of damage possible. Both my body guards have volunteered for the job. We need two more bots to go. I can't believe I'm going to ask this, but does ANYBOT know anyone who would be at least remotely useful on this mission?"

"Um…" A younger femme raised her hand. "I do."

"Hmmm?" Rodimus looked up. "And you are?"

"My name is Glyph, sir." She responded. "I have a friend who might be able to help."

"And their designation would be?"

"Her name's Arcee, sir."

Rodimus snorted with laughter. "Arcee? She was a traitor killed long before I was Magnus. I believe she used to work with a mech named Ratchet."

"She was a traitor, yes, but her memories have been modified to make her loyal to the Autobot cause." Glyph explained. "She'd be perfect for the job."

"I'll see 'bout that." Rodimus growled in a dismissive voice. "If she's as good as you say, Glyph, we won't need a fourth member of the group."

--

"So, we'll have to do it…" Megatron murmured.

"Primus, Sunstorm's going to be bursting out of his chassis when he gets word of this." Starscream answered quietly. "A real jail break! We can get our captured comrades back and destroy the Autobot's Holding Areas to boot."

"Who else is capable of doing this while we hold down the fort?" Megatron asked.

"Quite possibly Ramjet or Quicksnipe. Still, I'd like to send those two ninjas, Jazz and Prowl along, to be safe. Primus knows how well those fiends can defend against our Seekers now."

"Right. Also, get Soundwave to update those security codes. We can't be too careful. I'm sensing that those 'Bots are read to make a move."

--

(AnimatedVerse)

The Local Prime awoke to find that his teammates were gone.

Looking around frantically, he found a note scribbled on the wall of the cave.

'_Dear Optimus, _

_Went to go cause mayhem in the city .Feel free to join us as soon as you finish reading this._

_Sentinel and Wasp'_

"Oh Primus…" The mech gasped, transforming and speeding out of the cave.

--

As soon as Local Optimus got into the heart of the city, he followed a trail of destruction headed towards the Autobot base. Soon enough, he caught sight of the mechs smashing buildings and terrorizing the humans.

"WHAT THE SLAG do you two think you're doing?!" Optimus snarled.

"Just…Venting frustration, Optimus, old buddy!" Sentinel answered.

"Yeah! Did you really think we'd stay sane sitting in that cave for cycles on end? Hardly!" Wasp added, zapping a building into rubble.

"Guys, we have to fall back! Otherwise…" The wail of sirens made the mech freeze.

Oh slag. His teammates! They were coming this way! But…who was that leading them? Another fire truck?

"Oh, look! The local townies!" Wasp laughed, blasting at the advancing vehicles.

--

Mirror Prime snarled under his breath. If Wasp hit him and messed with his paint, there'd be slag to pay!

"Autobots, transform and roll out!" The 'fake' Optimus yelled, as the others transformed around him.

"Whoa. Sari was right." Bulkhead gasped. "Look, there's two Boss-bots!"

"Be careful," Mirror Optimus growled, drawing his weapon. "There's no telling what these fakes could do."

"Hey, who are YOU calling a fake?!" Local Prime snarled back. Turning to his team, he said, "Guys, you're being tricked! It's me, the REAL me! I've been spying on these two the whole time!" Meanwhile Mirror Wasp and Sentinel exchanged glances, but tried not to look terribly surprised.

"Liar!" Mirror Prime responded angrily, lunging at his opponent. Meanwhile, Bulkhead and Ratchet advanced on Mirror Sentinel, and Bumblebee and Prowl attacked Mirror Wasp.

As the separate fights went on, both leaders had a snarled conversation between blows.

"So, thought you could take up my position, huh?" Mirror Optimus asked. "My men know all about you, faker!"

"I should be asking you the same," Local Optimus responded. "My men are smart enough to figure you out as well!"

"Well, no one's confronted me so far! Your men are dumber than they look!" Mirror Prime yowled, giving his opponent a swift kick to the fuel tank. The move sent the local Prime sprawling. As he tried to get up, the Other Optimus stomped on his back and slapped a pair of stasis cuffs on him.

"Oh no!" Came the automatic cry from Sentinel. "Our leader's been captured!"

"Run away! Run away!" Wasp yelled, transforming and zooming off, with Sentinel right behind him.

"That's right, you run away!" Mirror Prime called after them. Turning back to the Local bots, he said, "Let's get this fake to the space bridge and send him back where he belongs. I assume it's working…"

"Yeah, we got it up and running a few Earth days ago." Bulkhead replied, giving the mech a confused look. "You should know. You were there, after all."

"Well, uh, I mean, you know how space bridges are. Very finicky sometimes." Mirror Optimus answered nervously. His counterpart must have been there when the space bridge had gone online.

"Psh, y'got that right." The green bot chuckled.

--

(MirrorVerse)

Rodimus, the Twins and Perceptor were gathered in the Cyberninja dojo, awaiting the arrival of Arcee. She had agreed to demonstrate her abilities for them.

"Are all femmes this late, sir?" Jetfire asked innocently.

"Sometimes, kid." Rodimus replied quietly. Suddenly, the screen door flew open, and a pink femme stalked into the room. She nodded at the assembled bots and drew two energy blades from the sheaths on her back. Eyeing a few practice dummies in the corner, she struck, once! Twice! Each move was carefully done, yet she showed no effort whatsoever. Landing with her back to the dummies, she strode up to the four mechs. Sheathing her swords, she asked, "When do I start?"

The mechs peered behind her, optics wide with awe. The targets had been reduced to shreds, and there were huge gouges in the wall. The outline of the two stuffed mechs stood out of the chaotic mess.

"Well, looks like we won't need a fourth after all." Rodimus said, smiling at the deadpan femme. "We start n a few days. Don't be late."


End file.
